Chapter 560: What the hell does this beast mean?

Lu Qi turned his head, raised his hand and shook it at the crowd.

The crowd understood, all reined in their reins and stopped.

Lu Qi whispered to Kang An: "Don't make a sound."

Kang An nodded, staring fixedly at his own home.

Lu Qi dismounted and led his horse toward the woods beside the road.

The others followed suit, tying their horses to the trees.

Only then did Lu Qi whisper: "There are shadows inside the house, about five or six."

Xiao Er looked up and said: "Everyone climb the trees and watch quietly."

"Good."

Tuan Tuan lay on Xiao Er's back, Lu Qi held Kang An in his arms, and the others leapt onto the treetops, using the foliage for cover as they gazed at those few earthen huts.

Sure enough, vague shadows moved back and forth inside the house.

Lu Qi whispered to Kang An in his arms: "Do you know them?"

Kang An stared unblinking and shook his head.

Xiao Ningyuan whispered to his third brother beside him: "Kang An has been away from home for two years—why is anyone still here? Could it be that someone saw the place empty and moved in?"

Xiao Ningxun examined the courtyard carefully: "Did you see the large earthen jar in the yard?"

The crowd had been staring at the interior; hearing him, they all turned their gaze together.

"The earthen jar is clearly smashed with a big hole—it was meant to hold water; without water, how could anyone live there?"

Tuan Tuan suddenly realized: "Third Brother is really smart!"

Xiao Er said: "Could it be those people from back then?"

Kang An tensed all over; Lu Qi hurriedly held him tighter: "Don't be afraid, we're all here."

Kang An nodded, his heart resolved: this time, I am not alone.

Xiao Ningyuan whispered: "Don't move, wait for them to come out; if they really are those people from back then, perhaps the one Kang An once saw will be among them."

Tuan Tuan ground his teeth: "If that bastard is there, we'll go beat him up together!"

Kang An's blood surged; he nodded firmly and clenched his fists tight.

The crowd silently watched the movements in the courtyard.

After a while, those people finally stopped moving, seeming about to come out of the house.

The guards steadied themselves, hands on their sword hilts, and Xiao Er, with a backhand, held Tuan Tuan tightly on his back.

Lu Qi produced the iron lotus seed from his bosom, and Kang An's eyes widened.

Suddenly, a squad of black-clad figures rushed down the mountain path, arriving at the earthen huts in an instant.

The leader of the black-clad men raised his hand, and several behind him charged straight into the courtyard.

At the same moment, the door of the earthen hut opened and its occupants stepped out; both groups stumbled, clearly not expecting to encounter each other here.

Those who came out of the hut shouted at the black-clad men; though the words were indistinct, the tone was questioning.

The black-clad leader said nothing, swung his hand downward, and all the black-clad men surged forward; the two sides instantly tangled in melee.

Xiao Ningyuan was bewildered: "What's going on?"

Xiao Er fixed his gaze on the black-clad group's movements, his pupils narrowing slightly: "They're the ones who have been hunting the young lady."

Xiao Ningxun's heart jolted: "How could they be here?"

Lu Qi stared at the two sides fighting fiercely in the courtyard: "Could it be that they failed to obtain the Wu Jin Mud at Shazhoubao and came here instead?"

Tuan Tuan watched unblinking and whispered: "Second Uncle, who are those people ahead? Why are those black-clad bastards fighting them?"

Xiao Er fell silent for a moment: "There's nothing valuable in Kang An's home; those who could reach this remote wilderness must also be after the Wu Jin Mud."

He paused, looking at the two factions fighting to the death: "In short, none of them are anything good."

Lu Qi nodded: "Still, their skills are genuinely impressive, their numbers are even, and for a while it's hard to tell who will win."

Kang An watched as they smashed his mother's laundry rack, kicked over his father's water-carrying pole and bucket… his face flushed red.

Tuan Tuan looked at him: "Xiao An'an, do you want to fight them?"

Tears glistened in Kang An's eyes: "This is my home! My parents left only this little, and you've smashed it all!"

He gritted his teeth: "I want them—get out!"

Tuan Tuan understood: Xiao An'an wants them to roll out of his home, and I must help him!

Anyway, they're all no good—so it'll be fun.

"You're all here for the Wu Jin Mud, right? Fine—I'll give you one!"

She shifted backward behind Xiao Er, using his broad back to shield herself.

Then she untied the embroidered pouch at her waist, pulled out a broken grass stick, and muttered softly: "Come, a little beast good at escaping!"

She thought: "Let it hold something black in its mouth so they can see! Hurry and take them away—the farther they go, the better!"

Having said that, she loosened her tiny hand; a faint light flashed, and the broken grass stick vanished.

The next moment.

A plump yellow weasel thudded with a "dong" against the large earthen jar in the courtyard.

The fighting sides, startled by the sound, each thought the other had sent reinforcements, retreated a step, and looked toward the source of the noise.

"Wu Jin Mud!" someone shouted.

Only to see the yellow weasel clutching a black object tightly in its mouth, shaking its head, leaping onto the jar, and darting out of the courtyard.

The two sides glanced at each other, evidently no longer wanting to fight, leapt out of the courtyard together, and gave chase.

Xiao Ningxun and Xiao Ningyuan glanced at their sister: "……"

Xiao Er laughed: "Miss, you did a splendid job!"

Kang An looked bewildered, where did that yellow weasel come from?

It was clearly holding a lump of black mud in its mouth!

Yellow weasels like to carry chicks, don't they? When did they start eating mud?

Everyone lay on the tree and kept watching.

All they saw was the yellow weasel clutching the clump of black mud and diving straight into the thicket not far outside the courtyard.

The two groups didn't think twice and followed it in.

"Ouch!"

"Damn it!"

"I'm stabbed to death!"

Inside the thicket, curses erupted instantly.

The thicket's thorns were dense and numerous, each as long as half a finger; some were stabbed in the face, some in the hand, some missed a step and fell in, screaming as they were pierced.

The yellow weasel deliberately chose the densest part of the thicket, weaving left and right, and not a single hair got snagged.

Soon it emerged from the other side of the thicket, still clutching the clump of black mud, flicked its tail, and ran down the mountain.

When the two groups crawled out of the thicket, they were a sorry sight.

Their clothes were torn to shreds hanging on them, faces and hands covered in bloody streaks; a few had their hair pulled loose by the thorns, disheveled like ghosts.

But they ignored the pain, gritted their teeth, and gave chase again.

The yellow weasel didn't run fast, but it was expert at picking its path.

Where the going was tough, it went there; where there was a pit, it jumped; where there was a stone, it climbed.

The two groups followed behind, sometimes climbing slopes, sometimes descending gullies, sometimes threading through woods.

As they pursued, they also kept fighting each other, exchanging blows now and then, with the constant clang of metal on metal.

Soon the yellow weasel seemed tired, its pace slowing.

The two groups' eyes lit up at once, and they threw themselves forward with all their might.

But the yellow weasel suddenly turned and dove into an even denser thicket.

The two groups: "……"

They could only grit their teeth and plunge in again.

When they scrambled out of the thicket again, battered and miserable, they stared in disbelief.

The yellow weasel had actually risen to its feet, waiting by the roadside, its tiny front paws rubbing together, looking sly and contemptible.

Tuan Tuan's eyes lit up: "It's so cute!"

The two groups looked at each other.

Their clothes were now even more ragged, only a few strips of cloth hanging, flapping loudly in the wind.

What does this beast mean? Is it toying with us?

But the next moment, the yellow weasel turned and ran down the mountain; the two groups, resigned, once again steeled themselves and gave chase while fighting.

The spectators in the trees watched with relish, seeing them run farther and farther until they vanished at the slope's end.

Tuan Tuan craned its little head to stare: "They ran so far!"

Xiao Ningxun finally couldn't hold back, laughing out loud: "Come on, let's go down."